140 years of Romanian-Spanish diplomatic relations

On 23 June, Romania and Spain celebrated 140 years of diplomatic relations.

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Daniela Budu, 24.06.2021, 13:50

Upon celebrating 140 years of diplomatic relations between Romania and Spain, the Romanian foreign ministry appreciated the excellent political dialogue, shaped by shared views and the convergence of opinions on most topics on the European and international agenda.

The institution says in a news release that the two countries, located at opposite ends of the EU, share the goal of projecting common European values to the Unions eastern and southern neighbourhood. In this respect, protecting universal human rights and promoting peaceful resolution of any differences remain fundamental elements of the two countries international stance.

According to the Romanian foreign ministry, “beyond the political dialogue, the cultural and linguistic dialogue, underlain by our Latin roots and reinforced by growing cooperation, as well as the convergence of goals at EU, NATO and multilateral level, have fuelled the steady development of our bilateral relations.

The foreign ministry also notes that the most important role is played by the Romanian community in Spain, which has reached an exceptional integration level and is a bridge connecting the two states.

Recently, Spains ministry for inclusion, social security and migration announced that at the end of last year the number of Romanian nationals in Spain was over 1 million, making them the largest foreign community in that country. In this context, the Romanian authorities emphasised that the contribution of the Romanian citizens living in Spain is vital to the host countrys economy, and is facilitated by the openness of the Spanish society.

The bilateral economic cooperation is also important, with over 6,200 companies running on nearly 1.8 billion euro worth of Spanish capital in Romania at the end of last year. Spain is thus the 8th-largest foreign investor in Romania.

The diplomatic relations between Romania and Spain date back to 23 June 1881. In June 1913, George Cretzianu was appointed Romanias extraordinary envoy and plenipotentiary minister to the Kingdom of Spain, and was the first Romanian ambassador to reside in Madrid. Bilateral diplomatic relations were briefly suspended after World War Two, but subsequently upgraded to embassy level in 1977. Spain was one of the first countries to actively support Romanias EU and NATO accession. (tr. A.M. Popescu)